Who is Bhupen Hazarika?
New Delhi, Jan 25: The Centre on Friday conferred former President Pranab Mukherjee with the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award. Bharatiya Jana Sangh leader Nanaji Deshmukh and singer and musician Bhupen Hazarika have also been awarded posthumously. More than seven years after his death, former Indian playback singer Bhupen Hazarika is to be awarded the highest civilian award of the Indian Republic, the Bharat Ratna on Republic Day 2019.
Who
is
Bhupen
Hazarika?
The
late
classical
singer
was
born
on
September
8,
1926
and
had
passed
away
in
2011
on
November
5.
He
was
widely
hailed
as
'Sudhakantha' and
his
songs
were
mostly
written
and
sung
in
the
Assamese
language
on
themes
revolving
around
humanity,
empathy,
communal
amity
and
universal
brotherhood
and
justice.
His
works
have
been
translated
into
different
languages.
In 1975, he had been a recipient of the National Film Award for Best Music Direction in 1975. Other accolades received by the late singer include Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987, Padmashri in 1977, and Padmabhushan in 2001. He was also awarded India's highest award in cinema, the Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1992, India's highest award in cinema and Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 2008.
In 2012, shortly after his death, he was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian award. He also served as the Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama from December 1998 to December 2003.